Entry doors having embossed designs are typically constructed of a pair of steel panel faces mounted upon a wood frame surrounding a core of insulative material, such as polyurethane. A series of designs are embossed in each of the steel door panels by conventional stamping means. The polyurethane core is typically injected into the door to form a complete bond between the interior surfaces of the steel panel and the wood stiles and rails which form the door frame, thereby creating a unitized, dimensionally stable door assembly. Doors constructed in this manner provide good thermal and acoustic insulation as well as aesthetically pleasing deep embossed panel designs. However, while the steel panels utilized in the construction of these doors may be efficiently stamped with relatively detailed, attractive designs, the finished products are relatively heavy and expensive to manufacture.
Plastic sheet has been substituted for steel panels in doors, particularly in flush inner doors which do not contain embossed designs. However, attempts at mass producing panels with deep embossed designs from plastic have produced less than desirable results as the plastic sheets are susceptible to fracture and other material failure during the stamping process.
Interior doors having embossed designs on their facing panels are typically constructed from pressed board panels. The embossed designs are formed in a wet mat of the pressed board material which is subsequently steamed and then dried to form a hardened outer panel. While this method of making interior embossed panel doors is less expensive than the entry doors described above, the process for making these doors is time consuming.
One object of the present invention is to provide a light, inexpensive interior door having good thermal and acoustic insulation and facing panels with deep embossed intricate designs.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive and efficient method for manufacturing plastic paneled doors having deeply embossed designs thereon.